I can feel the heat outside the house as I am writing this post. My house is usually cool even during the summer, if I can feel heat, it is REALLY warm out. 🙂 Which is good, considering we didn’t really get much of a summer for the past month or so in Vancouver. Hot weather calls for yummy frozen treats! I was shopping at a tea shop a few weeks a ago (I am a tea lover), looking for a tea blend that would work well in my gelato. The tea expert recommended that I try their “Creamy Nut Oolong”. The tea description: “This high grade Chinese Oolong contains apple pieces, caramel bits, almond pieces, safflower, sunflower, mallow flower and natural aromas.” So I decided to give it a try. It turned out to be very delicious, the caramel flavour worked exceptionally well with the creaminess of the milk and cream in the gelato. I also used honey, its floral aroma also worked well with the floral notes in the tea blend. Ice-cream or gelato is actually very simple to make, as long as you have a good base recipe, you can flavour it with different aromas. I made small batch to try, my brother asked me why I didn’t make more. 😀

Ingredients:

Makes 2 – 3 servings.

2 tsp. of “Creamy Nut Oolong” tea blend

1 cup Milk

½ cup Whipping Cream (at least 30% milk fat)

2 Egg Yolks

2 tbsp. Granulated Sugar

2 tbsp. Liquid Honey

Method:

Place milk, cream and tea leaves in a small saucepan and heat on low heat for about 10 minutes.
*We want to steep the tea, so don’t boil the mixture.

Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and honey until foamy and light (see image above).

After steeping, pour the milk into the yolks and sugar mixture slowly and whisking at the same time.
*Careful not to pour the hot milk into the yolk mixture all at once, we don’t want to have scrambled eggs. Also whisk as you pour in the hot milk.

Pour the custard through a FINE sieve, removing the tea leaves or any solid bits.

Return the custard to the pan on LOW heat, stir with a wooden spoon as the custard heats up.
*NOTE: This step takes a bit of patience and you have to keep an eye on it because we don’t want to overcook the mixture and have solid lumps of egg yolk to affect the texture of the gelato.

Cook until the custard coats the back of a wooden spoon and draw a line with your finger to test if the custard has reached the right consistency (see image above). The custard will not be very thick but will be a creamy consistency. If you see lumps, remove the pan from heat immediately and cool mixture.

Cool custard and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.

Churn the mixture in an ice-cream maker, following its manufacturer’s instructions.

Transfer the gelato into a seal-able container and freeze until firm.

My ice-cream maker is probably one of the simplest and inexpensive models that one can get. It consists of a moving part that has a switch to and a bowl that is to be frozen before the mixture is churned. I think freshly churned gelato actually tastes the best because its temperature is bit higher than freezer stored gelato (unlike the professional freezers in gelato shops). Its consistency is so soft and creamy. So if you are serving gelato from the freezer, you might have to “defrost” it for a short time in the fridge to get a softer texture.

I love having soups for lunch – they are light, delicious and most importantly will not put to me to sleep after the meal (especially during work :)). I used to buy canned soup for the convenience of a ready meal after 3 minutes of reheating. As I read the sodium levels on the nutrition label, I decided to make my own. I read some recipes online and came up with this as my freestyle cooking – not following a recipe. The ingredients are very simple: vegetables, chicken broth, chicken, pasta and herbs. I like the using herbs in my soup as they brighten up the flavours. I also used lemon to add a bit of refreshing flavour as well.

Ingredients:

Makes 8 – 10 servings.

(I didn’t follow a recipe – adjust portions however you like!)

2 pieces of Chicken Breast

1 cup Dried Pasta (I used small bow ties), cooked, drained and rinsed

5 – 6 Celery Stalks, diced

2 medium-sized Carrots, diced

1 large onion, diced

herb bouquet – a sprig of rosemary, 2 sprigs of thyme and sage,
tied together with a piece of cotton string
*If you do not like herbs, omit them.

2 cans of Chicken Broth (375 mL each)

2.5 – 3 L water

Juice of ¼ of a lemon

Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:

Season chicken with salt and pepper, cook, let cool and dice.
*I seared my chicken to add extra flavour but it is not necessary.

Cook pasta in lightly salted water, drain and rinse.

Wash vegetables and dice.

Bring chicken broth and water to a boil with the herb bouquet, add vegetables and simmer at medium heat for 10 minutes.

Add cooked pasta and chicken, simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

Fish out herb bouquet, add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Soup is served!

This soup is super easy to make, yummy and good for you – just requires a bit of vegetable chopping. I am ditching the canned stuff for good. 8)

Fresh local tomatoes are so delicious in the summer, it is a good time to preserve their sun ripen tomato-ey flavour for cooking. I came across some nice local tomatoes so I bought some to try canning them at home – it is my first time canning tomatoes. It is not a difficult process. All you need is tomatoes, salt, citric acid or bottled lemon juice, and water (proper canning jars too!). The following recipe was adapted from Chow Times.

Fresh herbs (if desired – I did not use any since it was my first time)

Method:

Score a cross on the bottom of the tomatoes with a knife for easy skin removal.

Boil tomatoes in hot water for about 30 seconds.
*Remove from water and place them in a cold water bath.*

Peel skin.

Remove the core (stem end) of the tomatoes with a paring knife.

Cut tomatoes into halves or quarters and place into a pot and cover the bottom with water. (I used about 1 cup of water for 2 lbs of tomatoes.) Bring contents to a boil in medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Simmering them will kill the enzymes that causes the liquid and solid to separate – the process is called ‘Hot Pack’. Add salt if desired.

Prepare jars for canning: rinse jars with warm water, sanitize and keep jars and tops in hot water (not boiling) until ready to use. Do not put hot contents in a cold jar – glass may break! Place the citric acid or lemon juice in the empty sanitized jars.

Fill jars with prepared tomatoes, leave about ½ inch of space from the top of the rim. Use a plastic knife or utensil to remove air bubbles in the jar, add more cooking liquid if required.

Wipe rim of the jars, place tops and screw rings (not overly tight!). Place jars into hot water with at least an inch of water above the jars and bring to a boil. Process the jars for 40 minutes (time from when boiling starts). After 40 minutes, turn off heat, wait until boiling subsides, carefully remove jars without tilting them. Check seal after 24 hours, the top of a good sealed jar shouldn’t ‘pop’ when pressed with your finger. If it ‘pops’, it means the jar is not vacuum sealed – you will need to use contents as soon as possible and store it in the refrigerator. Store properly sealed jars in a cool dark place.

I was surprised that canning tomatoes are so easy, the tomatoes I used is probably not suitable for a pasta sauce but will be good in a soup or stew. This is not canning tomato sauce – that is a different story which will require removing the seeds and milling the tomatoes. Things to be careful about is handling the hot jars and that cleanliness is key!

How can you go wrong with tomatoes and basil? After successfully making the thin and crispy sesame crackers, I wanted to further customize my recipe. I am addicted to making crackers 🙂 I wanted to try, yes, a classic combination of tomatoes and basil. So I tweaked the recipe and came up with this delicious recipe. These crackers turned out to be very rich in tomato flavour with a hint of basil. This recipe is the almost the same with the sesame crackers recipe, except for the thickness – these are thicker because I wanted the crispiness to be closer to a cracker rather than chips and secondly, the tomato bits can’t be pressed too thin – they will make holes in the crackers when the dough is being rolled out. The oven temperature also needed to be lowered otherwise the tomato will burn easily. I brought a box to work and they were popular – almost all gone in 30 minutes!

Ingredients:

200 grams All Purpose Flour

50 grams Whole Wheat Flour (I used stoned milled)

½ tsp. Sea Salt + more for sprinkling tops

1 tsp. Baking Powder

2 tbsp. Brown Sugar

30 grams Sun Dried Tomato – finely chopped

¼ cup finely chopped Fresh Basil

25 ml. Olive Oil (good quality) + more for brushing

Method:

In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients, including chopped basil and sun dried tomatoes.

Add water and olive oil.

Mix with a rubber spatula until the dough starts to form. If the dough is too dry, add a bit more water.

Turn the dough on a counter and knead until it becomes not sticky on your hands.

Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour to let the flavours develop in the dough.

After resting, divide the dough into four pieces so you can work them through the pasta maker individually.
* Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.

Work the well-floured dough from the thickest setting and gradually to the thinner setting (I rolled these to the setting “5” with the thinnest at “9”).
* If you don’t have a pasta maker, roll the dough with a rolling pin into a very thin sheet.

Cut the dough sheets so it fits on the cookie sheet, place on the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and brush with more olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.

Cut the dough sheets into small size crackers and bake for 15-16 minutes or until golden brown (keep an eye on them because they can burn easily). Let cool and store in an air tight container.

Tip: Avoid baking these crackers too long because excess browning will diminish the basil flavour in the crackers.

This recipe makes me not wanting to buy crackers anymore, they are so yummy and easy to make, not to mention easy on your wallet!

After a couple times of trial and error, I have finally come up with this recipe. It is great for snacking, contains whole wheat, olive oil and toasted sesame seeds! A piece of equipment you might want to consider getting if you don’t already have is the pasta maker, it made my life so much easier. Here I rolled them out so thin that the crispiness is more like chips more than crackers. So why have greasy chips when you can have these thin and crispy crackers?

Ingredients:

200 grams All Purpose Flour

50 grams Whole Wheat Flour (I used stoned milled)

½ tsp. Sea Salt + more for sprinkling tops

1 tsp. Baking Powder

2 tbsp. Brown Sugar

1 tbsp. Toasted White Sesame Seeds

1 tbsp. Toasted Black Sesame Seeds
* I used Japanese sesame seeds – they are very flavourful and are already toasted which is very convenient.

115 ml. Water (adjust according to dough texture)

25 ml. Olive Oil (good quality) + more for brushing

*If you don't have a pastry cutter, just cut the dough with a knife. In this photo I cut them before brushing the oil but it actually easier to brush the oil and then cut.

Method:

In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients.

Add water and olive oil.

Mix with a rubber spatula until the dough starts to form. If the dough is too dry, add a bit more water.

Turn the dough on a counter and knead until it becomes not sticky on your hands.

Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

After resting, divide the dough into four pieces so you can work them through the pasta maker individually.
* Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C.

Work the well-floured dough from the thickest setting and gradually to the thinner setting (I rolled these to the setting “7” with the thinnest at “9”).
* If you don’t have a pasta maker, roll the dough with a rolling pin into a very thin sheet.

Cut the dough sheets so it fits on the cookie sheet, place on the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and brush with more olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.

Cut the dough sheets into small size crackers and bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown (keep an eye on them because they can burn easily). Let cool and store in an air tight container.

I usually don’t store them for a long time because they are always gone after a couple of days. They taste great with hummus too!

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